Immediately following the event, Preserve the Burg and the Judy Genshaft Honors College (JGHC) hosted\u00a0Harboring Resilience: the Past, Present, and Future of Bayboro Harbor<\/a>\u00a0in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, where\u00a0senior environmental science and policy major and vice chair of the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF), Oliver Laczko,\u00a0detailed the research behind his senior thesis, which describes the\u00a0history<\/a>\u00a0of Bayboro Harbor\u2019s development.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both events were part of USF\u2019s\u00a0fifth annual climate teach-in, which is part of the global initiative:\u00a0Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The initiative aims \u201cto inspire and involve students in a conversation about climate solutions,\u201d wrote the Judy Genshaft Honors College on\u00a0their\u00a0website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the guided shoreline walk, speakers discussed past and current projects focused on improving\u00a0the quality of Bayboro Harbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Laczko discussed the progress of the\u00a0living<\/a> shoreline\u00a0that SGEF installed on the USF St.\u00a0Petersburg\u2019s campus beach in November\u00a02025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later, during Laczko\u2019s presentation, he proposed an expansion of the current living shoreline that would entirely replace the seawalls currently surrounding Bayboro Harbor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to rethink the utility of the seawall that borders much of our waterfront,\u201d Laczko said in the closing minutes of his presentation. \u201cWhat ecological value does a seawall bring us? What protection does a seawall bring us against storms and storm surge?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The living shoreline that currently exists and the expansion that Laczko proposed would strengthen the sediment of the land so that it does not erode as severely as it did when hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the area in the Fall of 2024, he said. It would also restore some of the native plant life that was destroyed during Bayboro Harbor\u2019s\u00a0initial\u00a0dredging.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to use natural history as a blueprint, not just as an archive,\u201d Laczko said. \u201cResponsible development for the future is absolutely critical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a sentiment that is put into practice by two JGHC and College of Arts and Sciences classes taught by professors Tina\u00a0Piracci, Taylor\u00a0Crosslund\u00a0and William Ellis.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a part of the classes, students helped to design and install clay Oyster Restoration Brick Structures (ORBS) in Bayboro Harbor to promote Eastern oyster population growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of the guided shoreline walk,\u00a0Piracci\u00a0and one of her students, marine biology senior Ines Rosales, discussed the oyster restoration project.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn areas where we don\u2019t see any oyster,\u00a0we see the water quality getting really bad,\u201d\u00a0Piracci\u00a0said during the tour. \u201cWe want to find ways that we can grow them in healthy environments and then transplant them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Piracci, her colleagues and her students hope to expand this project from Bayboro Harbor, as well as the bricks installed at\u00a0St. Raphael Middle School<\/a>, to other locations with a need for oysters.<\/p>\n \u201cGlobally, 85 percent of oyster reefs have been lost, making them the most severely impacted marine habitat on Earth,\u201d according to the\u00a0Nature Conservancy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oysters, a keystone species, are integral to creating a thriving ecosystem because of their ability to filter water and strengthen a shoreline\u2019s integrity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall goal is to reverse the decline of oyster populations in Tampa Bay that have plummeted due to development and as more seawalls with synthetic materials are constructed,\u201d\u00a0Piracci\u00a0told\u00a0USF<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While it is too early to\u00a0determine\u00a0how the oyster population will grow within Bayboro Harbor and what impact it will have on the ecosystem, students will\u00a0monitor\u00a0the surrounding environment and sea life for changes\u00a0and the bricks at St. Raphael Middle School have seen success.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rosales told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0that the oyster restoration project has gained momentum and inspired similar efforts from institutions such as\u00a0Shorecrest Preparatory School<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Eckard College<\/a>, which gives her hope that oyster restoration efforts will grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n Piracci\u00a0agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy hopes for the project would be to continue to increase the amount of oyster in the area, but to also increase opportunities for other people to participate,\u201d she said, as there is a role available for anyone looking to get involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senior environmental science major and SGEF\u2019s proposal advisor, Audrey Everett, felt that this project could work in tandem with SGEF\u2019s living shoreline installation to create positive change in Bayboro Harbor\u2019s ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll environmental issues are interconnected, so we can\u2019t fix Bayboro Harbor just by having oysters there,\u201d she told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0after the shoreline walk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u00a0continued on\u00a0to say that SGEF\u2019s efforts to create \u201ca more resilient beachfront\u201d by planting mangroves, which sequester carbon and can help the oysters in improving Bayboro Harbor\u2019s water quality, has led to the repopulation and growth of several marine species.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aside from a potentially positive environmental impact, one thing that the Gulf Scholars Program, Laczko\u2019s thesis proposal and the oyster restoration project have in common is their use of interdisciplinary models of thinking.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rosales and Everett were both drawn to the oyster restoration project because of the combination of art and technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just very inspiring to me to see how industry, scientists and artists can collaborate to not only improve the environment, but also create something beautiful,\u201d Everett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout the guided shoreline walking tour, Gulf Scholars Program associates, such as Audrey Brandt, a USF alum and honors college employee, encouraged participants to think about the history and future of Bayboro Harbor through an interdisciplinary lens.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAn interdisciplinary pathway that interacts with the Gulf is something that\u2019s really fulfilling to me,\u201d Brandt said. \u201cAlso seeing that positive change in our local community, which we\u2019re already seeing before the program being really fully introduced, is really exciting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When people of different fields come together, Rosales said that innovative solutions to problems can be found.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really cool to bring all those different perspectives together, when usually we have this idea that they are pretty separate and can\u2019t really work together,\u201d Rosales told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest. \u201cI think that will bring something new and maybe all these other innovative ideas for restoration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Laczko, for example, combined history and environmental science in his proposal for green infrastructure along Bayboro Harbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that by examining the ecology and habitats that once existed within Bayboro Harbor, the salt marshes, the mudflats, the bayous, we can use that ecological knowledge of archived data to further drive home our adaptation and resilience of the region,\u201d Laczko said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Laczko stated that there is still much research and planning needed in order to fully comprehend the damage done to Bayboro Harbor since the 1900s and devise solutions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Everett believes that continuing to integrate students of different disciplines will yield creative and helpful ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a really great opportunity to kind of fix our wrongs of the past,\u201d\u00a0Everett\u00a0said. \u201cAnd to make the students who are involved\u2026have a deeper understanding of how their work impacts the world around them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_5038-1024x768.jpg\")
SGEF was also able to install this sign to provide a comprehensive list of the plants installed and the benefits they have for the beach.\u00a0Photo by Julia Birdsall |\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-11.32.27-AM-682x1024.png\")
These ORBS have been 3D printed and are designed so that oysters can be protected as they grow into adulthood.\u00a0
Photo courtesy of Gabriel Ballester-Rivera\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_5041-1024x768.jpg\")
Adult Eastern oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. In waters that have been historically polluted, such as Bayboro Harbor, this could have large ecological benefits.\u00a0
Photo by Julia Birdsall |\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.png\")
At the beginning of the walking tour, students were encouraged to make portraits using natural elements found on the campus beach\u00a0as a way to\u00a0see their connection to the environment.\u00a0
Photo by Julia Birdsall |\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Written by: Julia Birdsall<\/a> on April 1, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a>